Perfect
by ChibiCherry15
Summary: OC as main character! My name is Meko Uzamaki and I am not perfect, but I made a promise to myself that I would protect the ones I love with everything that I have. So I will strive for perfection, even though I know I will never be able to obtain it.


**Hey guys! This is the 1st chapter of the new and improved "Perfect"! I worked really hard on this, so I hope you like it and I hope you understand it a whole lot better this time around. Just so you know there will be three OCs in this story and some real world items as wells such as: ipods, TV and possible cellphones. Please review to tell me what you think, and thank-you to all my wonderful followers and newcomers. Please enjoy.**

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I used to think I was a good kid, but when you're a five year old girl, and you walk out into the forest by yourself, when your parents are fighting a demonic fox spirit, I suppose you're not good at all. My name is Meko Uzamaki and although I got a new baby brother today, being the selfish and independent little sprite that I am, I decided to venture off into the woods for an adventure.

Since everyone was preoccupied with protecting the village, it was easy for me to simply skip through the front gates undetected. But once I was out here alone my brilliant little idea didn't seem so perfect anymore. The sky was getting darker with the whispers of oncoming night and the air chillier with the sun disappearing behind the mountains. I shivered slightly and wondered if anyone had realized I was gone yet.

Still, I continued on with my quest, and as I brushed some leafy branches out of my way, I noticed a spot of white on the mossy ground. I knelt down and there underneath the thorns and dead leaves lay a slumbering white _kitsune_. I gasped as it blinked away its sleepiness and looked up at me with bright crimson colored eyes. I had never seen an albino _kitsune_ before! Cautiously I stretched out my hand towards the small fox and was shocked when it didn't growl or nip my fingers. Instead the little kit came up and licked my palm with its rough tongue. I smiled, but it faded quickly as a voice that was not mine bounced inside my head.

"**What is your name?"**

"What?" I questioned softly as I glanced around.

"**My name is Akari, what is yours?"**

"M-Meko Uzamaki…" I stammered.

The kit stopped licking and began rubbing its cheek against my palm. It glanced up at me then and purred.

"**It's nice to meet you Meko."**

"Is that you little _kitsune_? Are you talking to me?" I questioned in astonishment.

"**Yes."**

"A-Akari are you a boy kit or a girl kit? And how come you can talk to me?"

"**I am a girl like you. I can talk to you because I wish to. If I did not want to talk to you then I wouldn't be able to. Also, it is because we found each other and unconsciously formed a bond with the other."**

"I don't understand Akari, how did we form a bond?" I asked.

"**It's like an invisible string. Because you found me sleeping here, and talked to me, and let me lick you, you pulled that invisible string along with you. When I began talking to you, I picked up the string and wrapped it around my paw without you noticing. Because we met and are friends now, that is how we have a bond." **

"We're friends?" I exclaimed gleefully.

"**Yes. We are friends." **

"Can we be friends forever?" I asked.

Akari nodded. **"Yes, and I can show you how."**

"How?" I wondered.

"**Close your eyes. Try to see that string I told you about. Can you tell me what color it is?"**

"I can see it, its bright red just like your eyes Akari!"

"**Good. Now try to bring it closer to you. I'm still holding on, don't worry." **

"I'm pulling but it's really hard."

"**You're almost done. Keep trying." **

I yanked on the string as hard as I could and opened my eyes in excitement.

"Akari I did it! I pulled it really close!" I shouted, looking around for the_ kitsune_. I did not see Akari anywhere and there was a thin red string tied around my right pinkie finger. I followed the string down to the ground where it had broken, but there was still no sign of Akari.

"Akari…where did you go?" I questioned, tears willing up in my bright blue eyes.

I glanced up at the dark sky and pondered as to where Akari went. Suddenly my vision began to cloud over and darken just like the night above me, and before everything went totally black I heard a voice that was not mine filter through my head.

"**I'll always be here Meko. I'll always be your friend…forever…" **

I heard voices.

"Kakashi, I think there's someone over here!"

"Can you see who it is?"

"I-It's a little girl…"

"Is she alive?"

"I hope so."

"Is she hurt?"

"It doesn't look like it, but I'm no medic, so don't ask me."

I moaned softly and turned my head towards the noise of their footsteps.

"Ryu, she looks like a villager."

"What is she doing way out here? Why is she not with the others…far away from the village?"

"I don't know, Ryu, maybe when she wakes up, we can ask her."

I blinked over and over, ridding away the blurriness and the brightness of the morning sun.

"Hey, she's awake!" a girl shouted. She had blonde hair that was pulled into a ponytail, inky black eyes and a Konoha headband around her neck. She had a green Konoha vest over a long-sleeved mesh shirt and dark blue pants.

"Are you alright?" a boy asked. He had spiky silver hair and one inky eye. The other was covered with his lop-sided headband and the rest of this face was covered with a dark blue mask. He wore a long-sleeved blue shirt under a green Konoha vest and black pants.

I sat up slowly and began to squirm as I nervously played with the hem of my orange dress. I knew that you only got a Konoha vest when you became Chunnin, so they were either Chunnin or Jonin; which made me feel inferior, because I had only just started at the Academy.

"Are you alright?" the boy repeated.

I nodded.

"Can you tell us your name?" the girl questioned.

"My n-name is M-Meko Uzamaki," I stammered.

"It's nice to meet you Meko, my name is Ryu Uchiha," the girl replied, extending her hand. She gave me a warm smile as I took her hand and shook it.

"And my name is Kakashi Hatake," the boy stated, giving me a nod. I nodded in return.

"Meko-chan we have a few questions for you, okay? Do you think you could answer them?" Ryu asked.

"Yes!"

"Meko…we were wondering why you were out here so close to the village, and not in the safe place with everyone else. Could you tell us why you were out here?"

"I wanted to go exploring…and everyone was so busy fighting, I thought it would be the perfect time!" I explained giddily.

"Did you tell anyone where you were going?" Kakashi pondered.

"Nope!"

"Not even your parents?" Ryu exclaimed.

"No, because they were busy fighting the giant _kitsune_, and I didn't want to bother them."

"Well, even though everyone was fighting, even your parents, you should have told someone. How old are you Meko-chan?" Ryu queried.

"I'm five years old," I said.

"See! You're way too young to wandering around here alone, what if the _kitsune _attacked you, or rogue ninjas kidnapped you? No one would know!"

"Ryu don't scare her," Kakashi stated, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"How old are you guys?" I wondered.

"I'm twelve and Kakashi is fourteen," Ryu sighed.

"Is it scary being a ninja?" I thought.

"It is…unpredictable. Sometimes you are put in a situation where you have to choose. That is the scary part," Kakashi described.

"So it's not scary having to fight other people, people who have families?"

"It might be scary at first, but then you realize that when you are in battle, or on a mission, it is not just you fighting, it is the whole village, following our own _nindo_, to protect the Will of Fire that is in all of us," Ryu declared to me, her eyes shining as she looked off into the distance. I glanced over at where she was looking, to see what she was, but all I saw was trees.

"Meko, we still have some more questions for you," Kakashi began, bringing my attention to him.

"Okay!" I replied with a smile.

"Well, the battle with the Nine-Tails Fox is over, and we were wondering if you could tell us what your parents look like, so maybe we can find them," Kakashi uttered softly.

I nodded. "Mommy has long red hair, blue eyes, and she wears a green dress and Daddy has spiky blonde hair, blue eyes, and he wears a coat with flames on the ends over his ninja outfit."

Ryu and Kakashi glanced at each other, and Kakashi shook his head but before he could stop her, Ryu came closer to me. She grabbed my face and squished my cheeks, fluffed my hair and stared me in the eyes.

She sat back and asked, "Meko could you tell us what your father's name is?"

"Daddy," I stated simply, rubbing my face.

Ryu sighed and slapped herself on the forehead.

"What does everyone else call your daddy? What does your mommy call him?"

"She calls him Mizuki….no it's Minoru…wait it's Minato! His name is Minato!" I shouted.

"Minato-sensei…." Kakashi whispered, glancing away. I watched Ryu place her hand over his and squeeze slightly. He looked at her briefly and lowered his gaze again.

I wondered what was wrong, so I voiced it. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Meko-chan…the Nine-Tails Fox attacked your brother, Naruto," Ryu mumbled.

I gasped.

She looked in the eyes, her own filling with tears as she continued, "…and to protect Naruto, your mother and father sacrificed themselves. They…."

Ryu swallowed and glanced at Kakashi. This time he was the one who grabbed her hand and squeezed.

I watched him swallow as well before finishing, "Meko…your parents they….they…died."

I couldn't think. I couldn't feel. I couldn't breathe. I sat there on the cold, damp, ground staring at Kakashi and Ryu, but I wasn't seeing them. I wasn't seeing anything, because of the silent tears rolling down my cheeks, blurring my vision. Shaking, I placed my head in my hands and sobbed.

I wiped my eyes, but the tears continued to fall as I pulled my head up.

"You're lying!" I cried. I glared at them.

"You're lying!" I repeated, shaking my head back and forth. I stood up and clinched my fists. My brows furrowed and my lips trembled.

"There's no way Mommy and Daddy would leave my and Naru-chan alone!" I shouted.

"Everyone dies Meko…that's just part of life," Ryu offered.

"But it hurts…right here," I placed my hand over my heart, "I don't understand why it hurts so much…"

"I know it hurts," Ryu commented.

"How would you know?" I yelled. "Did your Mommy and Daddy die?"

"I know how it feels…" Kakashi growled lowly. "I know how it feels to loose everyone close to you, and for a long time I was bitter because of it. But you realize that everyone has lost something. You also realize that you have friends and family, blood-related or not, that can help you. We all have the Will of Fire, the determination to keep going even when it is hard. That is what you have to do right now, because that is the way of shinobi."

"But I-" I began, but Kakashi continued.

"I know it is hard, but Ryu and I can help you, and I have to remember that you have a younger brother to look after. You have to be strong for him."

I wiped away my tears again and gave them a toothy grin.

"Okay!"

"That's the spirit!" Ryu interjected.

"Let's go find your brother," Kakashi offered.

"Alright."

"**Are you sure you can trust them?" **

_Akari, is that you?_ I thought in shock.

"**Yes." **

_Why would I not be able to trust them?_ I wondered. _They want to help me. _

"**That may be true, but why would they want to help you? What could they gain?"**

_Maybe they're just nice people! Maybe you're just jealous!_ I thought angrily.

**I just want to protect you. You're my friend remember? You're my friend…forever.**

_I know you're my friend, but Ryu and Kakashi are okay. We can trust them…it's alright._

"**Alright,"** Akari sighed.

_Akari?_ I questioned.

"**Yes?" **

_Don't leave me alone, okay?_

I could see her foxy face smile as she replied.

"**Okay, I won't leave you alone Meko-chan. I'll always be here." **

I smiled and rushed to keep up with Kakashi and Ryu as we strolled towards the village, but gasped as we walked through the main gates. Street after street was destroyed, crushed by the Nine-Tailed Fox's mighty paws. Many people were out and about picking up debris, beginning to restore broken buildings. We sauntered over to a still intact but; run-down building and I pushed the door open in excitement.

I saw a man with long gray hair, dark eyes, with two red marks running down his cheeks. He wore a mesh undergarment, a long-sleeved green kimono shirt, and matching pants. He also sported funky wooden sandals on his feet, and when he noticed me in the door way, a grin sprouted on his face.

"Well if it isn't Meko-chan? And Ryu and Kakashi too?" he asked.

"Jiraiya-sama!" I called gleefully. I raced over to him and gave him a hug.

"Quiet now, I just got your little brother to go to sleep."

I glanced behind him to see Naruto cuddled up with blankets in a small crib against the wall. I slowly waltzed over towards the crib. It was wooden and as I got closer I saw Naruto's bright blonde hair sticking up. His head was turned to the side and I watched his little mouth open and close slightly as he breathed. I wondered what he was dreaming about. I wondered if he would somehow remember Mommy and Daddy when he was older.

But I knew he wouldn't; there was no way to remember things from when you were a baby. I sighed softly and backed away as to not wake him.

I glanced back at Jiraiya, Ryu and Kakashi and smiled.

"Thank-you…Kakashi-san…Ryu-san…for helping me."

"You're very welcome Meko-chan," Ryu replied, "…and you don't have to use honorifics with me."

"Okay!"

"You're welcome Meko," Kakashi added, "…and you don't have to use honorifics with me either."

"But you do have to use them with me, okay kiddo?" Jiraiya chimed in, ruffling my hair. I giggled.

"Alright Jiraiya-sama."

Ryu and Kakashi began heading for the door but Ryu stopped and glanced back.

"Before we leave, I was wondering, will you be staying with Jiraiya, Meko-chan?" she asked.

"I arranged an apartment for them, I'll pay for it, and once they get older, they can take over the bill," Jiraiya explained.

"What about food?" Ryu questioned. "And Meko is only five years old; she can't take care of a baby by herself!"

"Yes I can," I replied, "Mommy taught me how, she told me how to feed him, and change him, and comfort him, in case she wouldn't be able to, for me to be a good older sister."

"But if you haven't already, you'll be starting at the Academy soon, and how to you except to take care of Naruto then?"

I hadn't thought of that.

"I can help her," Kakashi commented. "If Jiraiya is unable to, then I can help in any way I can."

Jiraiya sighed, "Look…I'm not available all the time, but until Naruto is old enough to fend for himself, I'll take care of them, and then they can rent an apartment."

"Okay!" I exclaimed.

"It's not that easy…" Ryu mumbled. She sighed and pushed her bangs out of her eyes. "…but I guess if that's how you want to do it, then go for it."

"I understand the complexity of this situation more than you do, Ryu. There are some things that must be taken care of in a certain way…" Jiraiya explained.

"I don't understand what you mean by that, but I suppose it's better this way. I hope you don't regret this Jiraiya," Ryu stated before following Kakashi out the door.

"I won't regret it! And use honorifics when talking to your elders!" Jiraiya shouted after them.

Ryu only gave him a smirk before closing the door behind her. Jiraiya grumbled under his breath and went into the kitchen.

"You want something to drink?"

"Just water please," I replied kindly.

He returned with a glass of water and a sake bottle. He put my glass on the table and took a small swig from the bottle. He wiped his lips and then got up and put the bottle away again.

"Don't need too much of that, if I'm going to be taking care of you guys," I murmured.

"Sorry," I whispered, looking down.

"Don't worry about it kid," he laughed, patting my shoulder. "I am Naruto's godfather, so now is a good a time as any to start acting like it."

I smiled and he did as well. I glanced over at Naruto's crib and my smile grew.

"I hope I'll be a good big sister…"

"Of course you will and if you're anything like Kushina, then I'm sure you'll do great."

"Kushina?"

"That's your Mom's name…pretty isn't it?"

I nodded.

"She was a fierce, strong woman, but she was kind and loving too, and I think you inherited those traits."

"Really?" I wondered.

"Really, you've got Uzamaki blood in you, so you'll do fine," Jiraiya confirmed.

As I sat down in a cushioned chair, I glanced down at my hands. Were these hands capable of taking care of a baby? Were they capable of wielding kunai and shuriken? Were they capable of killing? I sighed sorrowfully and felt tears brim my eyes. Jiraiya-sama is here, he can help me, but in the end it isn't the same. He isn't my father, he isn't my mother. I know he can never replace them…and I feel emptiness in my heart that was not there before. That emptiness clings to me, wraps around my heart so tightly, that I almost suffocate. It hurts. It hurts so much.

"Jiraiya-sama?" I question softly, still looking at my hands.

"What is it?"

"Can I see one of your kunai?"

"I…suppose…" he replied, pulling one out of his holster and handing it to me. I grabbed it and held it loosely in my hands. I held it with one and then the other. I grasped it so roughly that it made my knuckles turn white.

"Jiraiya-sama?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"Do you think…that it will be possible someday…for me…to be strong? To be strong enough to protect Naruto and Ryu and Kakashi?"

"Well I'm pretty confident that Ryu and Kakashi can take care of themselves, seeing as they're both Jonin."

"But what about protecting Naru-chan? Do you think I'll be strong enough to protect him?"

"Yes. And you want to know why?" he paused, and I nodded, "I think you'll be strong enough because you already have so much love and determination for him, now all you have to do is train your body. Your heart and mind are already to go, but you have to finish at the Academy and become a shinobi if you want to do the job right. I know you'll be strong enough. Just work hard and don't give up."

"But I'm not Mom or Dad, how will I know if I'm doing a good job? What if I screw up? What if-"

"Meko," he grabbed my shoulders gently and looked me straight in the eyes before continuing, "if all everyone did was worry about 'what if this' and 'what if that' we would never get anything done. We would be sucked into all the bad possibilities that we wouldn't even notice the good ones right in front of us. You can't worry about screwing up. If you screw up, you screw up and that's that. Get over it. You just have to be yourself and do your best, and I'll be here to help you. And once you and Naruto are old enough, if you still need help, I'm sure Ryu and Kakashi will be willing to lend a hand."

He sighed.

"Look…all you have to do is try your hardest, and that's it. You can't give anything more than your best effort, so don't worry about messing up. You'll do great, I know it," he concluded.

I let out a puff of air that I didn't know I was holding and grinned at him.

"Alright, I'll do my best!"

"And that's all you can do."

So that's what I did. After three very long and difficult years I graduated from the Academy and became a Genin. I worked hard on my missions, even though the majority were just manual labor, and didn't pay all that well. I began to take on C-ranked missions when I was ten and became a Chunnin at twelve.

It hurt me deeply when the massacre of the Uchiha occurred, and Ryu decided it would be better for her and Sasuke to live in a house she found two miles away from the village, instead of the empty estate. Two years later, when Naruto had still not graduated, but decided to practice jutsu _inside_ the apartment, Ryu offered for us to live with her. Kakashi and Ryu unexpectedly had a baby seven years earlier and got married. They had a girl and her name was Kimiko.

After two years of living with Ryu, Naruto finally graduated from the Academy and I became a Jonin. Kakashi became the sensei of Naruto and Sasuke, as well as a pink-haired girl named Sakura Haruno. They were known as Squad 7 and I felt that they worked well together, despite the fact that Naruto and Sasuke had a little rivalry going on. Ryu helped me train, along with Kimiko, and they both became very close friends of mine because of it.

But although, I thought everything was going fine with my brother and Sasuke, I was terribly wrong. Without warning, overnight Sasuke left the village in order to have revenge on Itachi, his brother, for killing his family. Naruto vowed to bring him back, promising on his life to Sakura that he would return with the raven. Unfortunately he broke his promise, and I have a feeling that he didn't really tell me all that happened between Sasuke and him when they fought. It saddened me to know that my brother was not only losing his rival, but his best friend.

In order to bring Sasuke back, Naruto trained for three years with Jiraiya, Sakura with Tsunade, and I trained with Ryu. I wanted to help Naruto with all my being, even though I wasn't really close to Sasuke, if it was for my Naru-chan…I would do anything. I would protect him as hard as I could, even against himself if it came to that. I wanted to be strong for him; I couldn't stand to be a burden.

So I trained vigorously, those three years, honing my chakra skills, and learning medical justu from Sakura and Tsunade-sama. I worked on my flexibility and my speed, being oh so envious of my father's title: Konoha's Yellow Flash. I befriended Hinata from the Hyuga clan to help me with controlling my chakra. I told Ryu about Akari, but no one else since I didn't want attention. Akari isn't a biju, but a simple spirit that is living within me. It was hard to explain, but Ryu understood. I love Akari, and I know she wouldn't harm me.

A long while after Naruto returned, Ryu got word about Sasuke's revenge on Itachi, and she, Sakura, and other medic nin found where the brothers were just in time. They were treated by Tsunade-sama herself, they were able to be saved. With some hardcore persuasion, she reluctantly agreed on a sentence of stripping them of their shinobi titles, giving them permanent house arrest under Ryu's supervision as well as with around the clock anbu surveillance.

Although he personally didn't bring him back, Naruto was ecstatic when Sasuke returned. Naruto, Ryu, Kakashi and even Sakura all gave the raven a much needed beating. After everything had calm down, a year later, Sasuke and Sakura officially got together, and now you never see the raven and the cherry blossom apart. I began dating Kiba, and Naruto, Hinata, and Kimiko who was now fourteen, while the other two were sixteen, had a little love triangle going on, that had still not fizzled down to a couple, even now, two years later.

So now that I think about it, I suppose I wasn't such a bad kid, I mean I met Akari, so that has to count for something, right? I also became stronger because of her encouragement over the years, so that helps a lot. Unfortunately, being twenty-three and still living with your little brother, your best friend, her husband, daughter, and two brothers, is pretty embarrassing, I'm sure I 'll keep on managing. So this is my story, and it is definitely _not_ perfect.

-20-


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